Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $77.31 and last traded at $78.38, with a volume of 1460539 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANF has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 2.7 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.05 and a 200 day moving average of $135.30. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.